Tomatometer Criteria

WHO ARE THE TOMATOMETER-APPROVED CRITICS?

Individual professional film and TV critics who are Tomatometer-approved and whose reviews are included on the site regardless of where they are published.

Tomatometer-approved publications, such as websites, online video outlets, newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, alt-weeklies, podcasts, radio programs, and TV shows. If a publication is approved, its review of a movie or show is included on the Tomatometer regardless of which individual critic produced it.

HOW DO I BECOME TOMATOMETER-APPROVED?

Critics who wish to apply should first review our guidelines below and may submit applications here. All candidates will go through an approval process.

In considering potential critics and publications, the Rotten Tomatoes curation team looks for those that embody our key values and meet our eligibility guidelines.

KEY VALUES

Insight: Criticism can be many things: a deep dive into the filmmaking craft, an analysis of subtext, a discussion on social commentary, an enthusiastic argument. We look for engaging content that has a distinct voice and offers perspective on a film or TV series, not just a plot summary.

Audience: Our intention is to reflect and represent the moviegoing and TV viewing audience with our Tomatometer-approved critics community. To cultivate a rich, varied, and inclusive space for engaging perspectives and debate, we seek critics who reach a wide audience, but also those whose film and TV coverage serves underrepresented groups.

Quality: Reviews should observe grammatical rules and demonstrate clarity and structure, whether approved by an editorial staff or self-published. In the same vein, video and podcast reviews should be well structured and have clear resolution and sound.

Dedication: Whether you’re a podcaster producing multiple shows per month or an alt-weekly contributor, we recognize that there are varying degrees of output among critics. Contribution minimums are outlined in the eligibility guidelines, but we also look for overall consistency and demonstrated commitment to the field. Additionally, memberships in critics organizations are recognized as a sign of merit, but are not essential for inclusion.

We expect critics to honor journalistic integrity and uphold publishing ethics. We do not tolerate plagiarism, obvious trolling, discrimination, or other breaches of conduct across all platforms.

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

INDIVIDUAL CRITICS

Written

Consistent output for a minimum of two years.

Demonstrated film/TV coverage at a publication outside of a self-published website. However, we will consider critics who solely self-publish if their site and work reflect our key values.

Broadcast

A regular appearance on a major and/or well-regarded local/national/international TV or radio outlet.

Video

Consistent output for a minimum of two years.

A minimum of 30K subscribers on a video publishing platform qualifies for broad audience reach. Critics reaching underrepresented groups will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

PUBLICATIONS

Written:

Consistent output for a minimum of two years.

A minimum of 500K unique monthly visitors as reported by Alexa.com qualifies for broad audience reach. Publications reaching underrepresented groups will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

At least three individually approved critics contributing to the publication on a regular basis.

In some cases, even if a critic or publication does not meet the eligibility guidelines listed above, we may consider them for approval if we believe their inclusion will benefit the utility of the Tomatometer and its audience.

In all cases, Rotten Tomatoes maintains the right to approve, reject, and remove critics and publications on a case-by-case basis at any time.

From time to time we change our guidelines, and there may be critics or publications who are still included in the Tomatometer that may not meet the current set of guidelines.